Maggi goreng 炒美极面
(Pictured above)
In Malaysia, a mamak is a food stall run by Muslim Indian people. Many of them are open late at night and early in the morning. As a teenager, skipping school, I would go to cyber cafes to play video games and then go to a mamak to hang out. Every kid would have their go-to meal and mine was Maggi goreng with a teh o ais limau (iced lemon tea). The instructions on a packet of Maggi instant noodles are to make a curry noodle soup, but mamak stalls turn the noodles into a wok-fried dry version.
This particular dish has so many memories for me. First, of when I was a dumb teenager skipping school, and second, of uni days when we’d open the fridge and, if we had chilli, onion and instant noodles, we could always make Maggi goreng. Even now, after 20 years living in Sydney, I still regularly cook this at home.
Serves 2
3 × 79g packets Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Kari (curry)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
½ red onion, diced
4 whole bird’s eye chillies
3 eggs
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
½ bunch choy sum
Blanch the instant noodles in boiling water for about one minute until half-cooked, then drain and set aside – you want the noodles to be still al dente after frying.
Heat the oil in a frying pan to smoking point. Add the onion and whole chillies and sauté until fragrant. Break the eggs into the pan and scramble vigorously until fully cooked and firm. Add the garlic and choy sum and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Add the drained noodles, give it all a stir, then sprinkle two sachets of the packet seasoning over the noodles, mixing in well. Stir-fry until the noodles are slightly charred, then serve.
Har mee 虾面汤 (prawn noodle soup)
School canteens in Malaysia are like street food markets. The main vendor sells drinks, bread and toast but other stalls might sell noodle soups, chicken rice and wok fries. A lot has changed, but back then anyone could just walk in. When I had money I would get my favourite, a prawn noodle soup called har mee. As an adult, whenever I went back to Malaysia I would get the same har mee from that canteen. I know there are better ones, but I’m a nostalgic type.
Serves 4
300g pork belly
1 tbsp light soy sauce
20 raw prawns, shelled and deveined
300g water spinach
300g bean sprouts
600g fresh hokkien noodles
200g dried rice vermicelli
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthways
Fried shallots, to serve
For the soup base
100ml vegetable oil
400g raw prawn heads
3 tbsp chilli giling (chilli paste)
2 litres hot water (8 cups)
50g rock sugar
1 tbsp heh ko (prawn paste)
5 tsp chicken stock (bouillon) powder
5 tsp MSG
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp sugar
Combine the pork belly with the soy sauce in a bowl and set aside for at least one hour to marinate.
To make the soup base, heat the oil in a wok and fry the prawn heads and chilli giling for 10 minutes; this will release all the juices from the heads and form the flavour base for your soup. Add the remaining soup base ingredients along with the marinated pork belly and boil for 30 minutes with the lid on so the soup does not reduce. Remove the pork belly and set aside to cool before cutting into 5mm slices. Strain the soup base into a fresh pot and discard the solids.
Bring the soup base to a simmer, then add the prawns and blanch for one to two minutes until cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and, in separate batches, blanch the water spinach and bean sprouts, removing each with a slotted spoon when just cooked and then set aside. In the same pot, separately blanch the hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli until soft, then strain and divide between four bowls. (Tip: I try to soak my vermicelli in cold water for 20 minutes before blanching and I separate hokkien noodles with my hands before blanching.)
Arrange the prawns, sliced pork belly, egg, water spinach and bean sprouts on top of the noodles and vermicelli. Ladle some soup base over each bowl and scatter with fried shallots to serve.
Chilli giling 辣椒膏
At Ho Jiak we have more than 10 kinds of chilli pastes and sauces. This one is the most basic and the easiest to make. I add it to stir-fries and curries when I want more spice.
Makes 400ml
200g dried red chillies
400ml vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
Soak the chillies in hot water for two hours or until soft. Drain then blend in a food processor to a paste. Place in a sieve for an hour to allow any remaining water to drip out.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan to smoking point, then add the chilli paste and stir constantly for about eight minutes or until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue stirring for another five minutes. Add the salt, then allow to cool completely before pouring into a jar. Refrigerate for up to four weeks.
Loh mee 卤面 (pork braised noodles)
After my parents moved out of my grandparents’ government-housing flat in Penang, I would go back there and stay with my grandparents during school holidays. Down the street was a kopitiam (coffee shop) that served only loh mee, which is just noodles, garlic, chilli, thick pork broth, pork intestines and an egg. It’s a cheap dish, like curry mee or char kway teow, and my grandparents and I would go there for breakfast. Whenever I go back to Penang, I check out the government housing where my family used to live and I visit that kopitiam. It’s now run by the kids of the original owner, but I still rate their loh mee as my favourite.
Serves 4
500g pork loin
5 tbsp potato starch mixed with 100ml cold water
2 egg whites
300g bean sprouts
200g dried rice vermicelli
500g fresh hokkien noodles
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthways
Fried shallots and coriander leaves, to garnish
For the loh soup base
2 litres pork stock (8 cups)
600ml dark soy blend (see recipe below)
2 tsp ground white pepper, plus extra to season
1 tsp five-spice
5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp sugar, plus extra to season
Put all the soup base ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the pork loin and boil with the lid on until cooked, about 20 minutes. Once cooked, remove the pork loin to a plate and refrigerate.
Keep the soup boiling and add the potato starch mixture, while stirring; the soup needs to become quite thick. Once thickened, reduce the soup to a low simmer and add the egg whites, stirring slowly. Season with salt, extra sugar and white pepper to taste and keep warm on a low heat.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and briefly blanch the bean sprouts, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pot, separately blanch the vermicelli and hokkien noodles until soft, then drain and divide between four serving bowls. (Tip: I try to soak my vermicelli in cold water for 20 minutes before blanching and I separate hokkien noodles with my hands before blanching.)
Remove the pork loin from the fridge and cut into slices of about 5mm. Arrange some pork slices, an egg half and some bean sprouts on top of each bowl of noodles. Ladle some loh soup over each and top with fried shallots and coriander.
Dark soy blend 老抽
Makes 1 litre (4 cups)
350ml Cheong Chan caramel sauce
300ml Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce
350ml oyster sauce
150ml fish sauce
6 tbsp MSG
6 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground white pepper
Put all the sauces in a saucepan and bring to a simmer while stirring well; do not allow to boil. Once it is simmering, add the MSG, sugar, salt and white pepper and stir well. When everything is well mixed and dissolved, turn off the heat and allow to cool. Funnel into a sauce bottle and store in the fridge for up to four weeks.
This is an edited extract from Ho Jiak: A Taste of Malaysia by Junda Khoo, photography by Alana Dimou. Available from 31 January through Hardie Grant (RRP $55).
